By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

The Arizona State Fair brings to mind cotton candy, carnival rides and livestock exhibits. It’s a tradition for many families, and it’s also a tradition for ADOT. We've staffed a booth at the fair for decades, and this year will be no different.

On the weekend of Oct. 29-30, ADOT's booth will be part of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety's Public Safety Days. ADOT employees will hand out pink plastic construction hats and share safety tips. Numerous statewide safety organizations, including police and fire departments, will participate.

The Great American Drunk Machine at the 1970 State Fair

The photo above takes you back to an Arizona State Fair in the 1970s, when the Arizona Highway Department (our name back in the day) used a coffin and a photo of a wrecked car to drive home the need for safety behind the wheel.

And take a look at the display below that appears to be inspired by the 1970s TV series The Great American Dream Machine and was called The Great American Drunk Machine, driving home another important safety message.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

By Angela DeWelles / ADOT Communications

There was a time when just about any MVD-related transaction you wanted to complete had to be done in person and in ink …

As you can see from the photos above – all of which were taken in the 1970s – operations have modernized since then. Over the decades, technology advancements have made things easier.

MVD customers can now carry out many transactions online and from home. Even when you do visit an MVD office, computers used by customer service reps make the process smoother than it was, back when typewriters, massive filing cabinets and carbon copies were all part of the equation.

Here in 2016, MVD still seeks out ways to improve the customer experience.

“We’re continually looking to see where we can save time or even a visit to an office,” ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “"Out of line and safely on the road’ is the way we’re doing business to benefit the residents of this state.”

Right now, MVD is finding ways to leverage new technology to improve processes – that includes expanding what can be done through ServiceArizona. Another innovative approach is going to allow MVD to modernize its computer system over the next few years through a partnership with IBM, which maintains ServiceArizona.com.

Besides those big technological advances, MVD is trying out a number of other, smaller adjustments. From signage updates to shifts in how customers line up in an office, MVD is experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t.

These MVD efforts are just part of an agency-wide commitment to continuous improvement that involves every aspect of ADOT operations.

We’ll be blogging more about these continuous improvements in the coming weeks. We hope you’ll stay tuned and let us know what you think. In the meantime, check out this recent news release for additional details.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

This Saturday will mark three years since a landslide ripped through US 89 about 25 miles south of Page, forcing an extended closure.

Much has happened in those three years, including paving a bypass route, completing some pretty major repairs and reopening this stretch of US 89.

Because we’ve covered that work thoroughly we thought it’d be interesting to go back a bit further and take a look at the history of the road. For that, we’ll turn to our trusty copy of the Arizona Transportation History report…

Historic photos from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation taken in the late 1950s when crews were working to realign and repave the portion of US 89 from Flagstaff to Utah.

It turns out that the need to establish a direct route between Phoenix and Prescott played a big role in US 89’s early history. According to the report, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were four roads for travelers to choose from between the two cities.

That led to some discussion in the 1920s over which of those routes would receive funding to become a U.S. highway. According to the report, the government ended up authorizing construction of the 16-mile White Spar Highway south from Prescott toward Wickenburg, and it became the favored route for the new federal highway. Soon after, the highway got a name.

ADOT has completed extensive repairs on the highway and reopened the road for travel between Bitter Springs and Page in 2015.

“US Route 89 was part of the first group of highways given numbers by the US Bureau of Public Roads in 1925. At first the number was just used for the road connecting Flagstaff with central Utah. Within two years, though, it had been attached to a string of roads all the way to Nogales.”

That’s right. US 89 once traversed the state from north to south. According to the report, in Arizona US 89 stretched from the border at Nogales and through Tucson to Florence before veering west through Mesa and Phoenix to Wickenburg. There it climbed Yarnell Hill, up to Prescott. The highway continued north through the country.

Of course, we now know that the north-south connection through the state once served by US 89 has since been taken over by Interstates 19, 10 and 17.

The state’s highway system has transformed over the years, as you can tell from the photos above. They were taken in the late 1950s during a time when crews were working to realign and repave the portion of US 89 from Flagstaff to Utah. According to the report, this work was needed to support the construction of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.

If the terrain in the photos looks familiar, it’s because they were taken near the site of the 2013 landslide. You can see our more recent photos to compare. For much more on Arizona’s transportation history, check out this detailed report on our website.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we have plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

No, this photo wasn’t taken today, although northern Arizona is currently seeing heavy snowfall. It’s an aerial shot of Flagstaff from December 1967…

We found it in our archives and thought it’d be an excellent throwback/reminder for travelers who are facing the winter storm. Before we take a closer look at the picture, we want to point you to a few of ADOT’s online tools designed to help modern drivers on state highways.

• AZ511: Visit ADOT’s Traveler Information Center (before you get on the road) at az511.gov for the latest highway conditions around the state. You can also use the site to view real-time images from along state highways that’ll give you a glimpse of weather conditions in various regions. You can also call 511 – outside of Arizona dial 1-888-411-ROAD (7623) – for updates on highway conditions.
• Know Snow: Plan ahead and visit our Know Snow page for lots of good information, including safety recommendations and tips to prepare your vehicle for a trip up north.
• Twitter: ADOT’s Twitter feed is extremely helpful for Arizona drivers. Get updates nearly round the clock (4 a.m. to midnight) directly from ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center by following @ArizonaDOT.

OK, back to that photo. We can’t zoom in close enough to see the snowplows on the road, but we do see some landmarks that are still familiar today.

Of course, the San Francisco Peaks haven’t changed, but we also recognize some buildings from Northern Arizona University that are there now (don’t squint too hard trying to find the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome; it wasn’t built until the 1970s). We think we see Sechrist Hall on the right hand side. It’s one of the tallest buildings in northern Arizona and was practically brand new in this photograph, as the structure was dedicated in January 1967.

The highways in northern Arizona certainly have changed over the years. If you’d like to read a little on the history of I-17, revisit this blog post. For much more on Arizona’s transportation history, be sure to check out this detailed report on our website.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word for it … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

Who says time travel isn’t possible?

After looking at these photos, we feel like we’ve taken a trip back to 1970 and landed our DeLorean at the Arizona State Fair.

Of course, the first thing we seek out is the Arizona Highway Department’s impressive display – hard to miss with that sign screaming, “HIGHWAYS serve you.”

How much do you love the freeway diorama that seems to have caught the attention of many fair-goers? If you look close you'll see that the model shows a proposed I-10 link that we know now was ultimately voted down in favor of the Deck Park Tunnel design.

We definitely need to check out that aerial mapping display. We don’t want to unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum, so we won’t mention to anybody the many ways that technology has changed over the past several decades.

After that, maybe we’ll see what types of careers are possible at the Arizona Highway Department – remember ADOT didn’t become ADOT until 1973.

An aerial mapping display at the 1970 State Fair.

It looks like they’re hiring for accountants, auditors, title examiners, key punch operators, computer specialists, engineers, maintenance men, draftsmen, stenographers, typists, motor vehicle examiners and license driver examiners.

Notice all the paper applications on that table? Back in the future, applying for a job at ADOT is an online process.

Speaking of the future, we hear a clock tower ringing in the distance. Time to head back to 2015, where sadly there are no hover boards or flying cars, but there’s still a chance to see ADOT at the fair! We’ll be there this year Oct. 24-25 as part of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety “Public Safety Days.”

Learn about a career in transportation.

More than 40 statewide safety organizations, including law enforcement agencies and fire departments, will participate during Public Safety Days. The goal is to share information to help keep you and your family safe. ADOT will be handing out construction hats for kids, souvenir cones and plenty of information.

And, if you ever feel like going back to the past, but you can’t quite generate the 1.21 gigawatts of necessary electricity, you can check out our previous State Fair posts from 1968 and 1970.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

Ed Green, who started working at ADOT in 1962 can recall the years leading up to the opening of the Deck Park Tunnel. Green, who is now a hazardous materials coordinator for the agency, worked on the Transportation Planning team as a planner during the tunnel’s construction – his main duty was running the traffic count program. “It was a massive project,” Green said of the overall construction. “It was very exciting to see it being built.”

In honor of its 25th birthday, we’ve focused on the Deck Park Tunnel all week but we’re not done yet. Today, we have some old (and new) photos to share with you...

First up, in the slideshow at right, are some pictures that were taken during the tunnel’s construction.

Below, you’ll see a photograph that was snapped during the tunnel’s open house and grand opening celebrations. As you can see in this slideshow, the open house, which was held in the days leading up to the Aug. 10, 1990 grand opening, was a chance for people to see inside the tunnel before it was open to vehicle traffic. The public was invited to walk, ride and visit the unopened freeway. On Aug. 10, there was the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by a number of government officials.

Finally, in this slideshow, you can see what the tunnel looks like today. There are even a few behind-the-scenes shots that show off the ventilation fans, control room and the space that was meant to be an express bus lane (it never was used for that purpose and is gated off from vehicles).

By the way, if you’re interested in the tunnel’s operations, you’ll want to stay tuned … we’ve got more details coming for you in the months ahead.

Until then, you can check out all of our previous tunnel posts to learn more. You’ll also find an extensive look at the Deck Park Tunnel’s history in “The Final Mile,” a document that was published by ADOT to commemorate the completion of Interstate 10.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

Photos showing the construction of drainage tunnels.

We keep referring to the tunnel as a tunnel, but as many of you might already know, the Deck Park Tunnel isn’t technically a tunnel at all. It’s actually made up of 19 bridges that are lined up side by side, creating a tunnel effect for motorists.

But there are actual, honest-to-goodness tunnels that were dug during the project.

They’re massive and they were constructed underground to serve downtown Phoenix’s drainage needs since the new section of I-10 interrupted the storm drains that were in place. According to “The Final Mile,” a document published by ADOT to commemorate the completion of Interstate 10, crews created a drainage tunnel system measuring a length of about 6.5 miles. For 5.2 of those miles, the tunnel measures 21 feet in diameter and for 1.3 miles, the tunnel is 14 feet in diameter (we told you they’re massive!).

Ron Romley retired from ADOT in 1992, but served as ADOT’s project manager during the drainage tunnel project and oversaw the contractors who did the digging.

You better believe that digging wasn’t done with shovels (referred to as “muck sticks” by the contractors. “All those guys in the tunneling industry talk in a different language,” Romley said. “There was lot of nomenclature that I had to learn.”).

There was a machine that did the work – two of them, actually, each with a different diameter capacity. Built in Japan, the tunneling machines were disassembled and shipped to California, loaded onto trucks and brought to Arizona for reassembly.

“It came in 23 semi loads from Los Angeles,” Romley recalls. “The machine was something I’d never seen before.”

A porthole was dug so the tunneling machine could be lowered down to the correct elevation. Once it was in place, the excavation began.

Romley said there were trains running underground all the time to convey the dirt and haul it out of the tunnel. According to “The Final Mile,” the three underground trains had the hauling capability of moving five semi-truck loads of dirt (92 tons) at a time. Excavation equaled 1.5 million yards of earth. Romley said much of that excavated material was reused to make the concrete used for the final “lining” of the tunnels. Roughly 190,000 cubic yards of concrete was used to finish off the drainage tunnels, along with 35,000 pre-cast segments and about 19 million pounds of reinforcing steel, according to “The Final Mile.”

“It was quite an operation,” said Romley, who besides overseeing the construction also gave tunnel tours to the public during the construction, which you can see in the photos above. “That was the neatest project of my whole career. It was the most challenging and the most rewarding to me as an engineer."

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

By Doug Pacey
ADOT Office of Public Information

Today, Phoenix’s freeways quickly carry residents across the Valley, zipping from one highway to another. It’s easy to travel, for example, from Gilbert to Glendale – take US 60 to Interstate 10 to Loop 101 Agua Fria. Your travel time will be affected by the vehicle volume on the highways, but you will not hit a traffic signal or stop sign on the freeways.

Not too long ago, that was impossible.

In 1957, Arizona’s first freeway interchange was finished, connecting Black Canyon Freeway and US 60/Grand Avenue, northwest of downtown Phoenix near Thomas Road. This photo shows the interchange, with Grand Avenue running along the overpass, crossing above Black Canyon.

At the time, US 60/Grand Avenue was the major east-west road through Phoenix – it started at Van Buren Street – and a few years later, Black Canyon was designated as part of Interstate 17 by the federal government. Back then, the freeway system in Maricopa County was in its beginning stages. Interstate 10 was still just a plan and there were no loops – 101, 202 or 303 – or state routes 51 or 143.

If the interchange in the photo isn’t familiar, that’s because it was taken out in the 1980s when construction of the Stack interchange was underway, connecting the I-17 Black Canyon and I-10 Papago freeways northwest of downtown Phoenix in 1990.

While this interchange is gone, many features in the photo are still present. The structure under construction in the top left is a hotel and the white-roofed building also remains. The billboard still stands tall, too, but no longer hawks Goodyear products.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

Since the 1970s, major world events have taken place, history’s been made several times over and trends have come and gone. But some things haven’t changed, like the fact that dust storms (unfortunately) remain a constant hazard for Arizona drivers.

As you can see in these photos from decades past, ADOT was working to warn motorists about the dangers of dust storms way back in the 70s.

At right, a pair of sign shop employees inspects a dust storm informational display that, according to our notes, was one of 29 signs to be placed at rest areas near Interstate 10 and I-8 in the Casa Grande area.

Taken in 1976, the photo shows us a sign that not only warns motorists about the dangers of dust storms, but also suggests the actions that drivers should take.

Can’t quite read the sign’s text? We zoomed in and were able to make this out:

Dust storms create danger on Arizona roadways
Dust storms strike quickly in Arizona, particularly on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson and on I-8 from Gila Bend to Casa Grande. Blinding choking dust can quickly reduce visibility, causing accidents that sometimes involve a chain of vehicles that ram into one another, creating massive pileup. Dust storms usually last only a few minutes, but the actions a motorist takes during a storm may be the most important of his life.

While that language sounds fairly similar to the messages that we communicate today, the portion of the sign referring to interstate warning signs is a little outdated.

Interstate signs with changeable messages warn motorists driving on I-10 and I-8 about dust storm danger. Ordinarily, the signs provide information about route designation and directions, but the message 'dust storm alert' appears on signs when dust storm activity is detected. The dust storm alert message refers motorists to locations on the AM radio dial on which dust storm alert warnings are broadcast periodically.

An example of a changeable message sign from 1972.

An example of those changeable message signs can be seen in the photo at right and in this previous post. Now in 2015, we use more modern Dynamic Message Signs to get the word out to drivers.

The dust storm poster also provides some safe-driving guidelines that sound pretty close to what ADOT advises today. Here are the first two tips:

• If dense dust is observed blowing across or approaching a roadway, a motorist should not enter the area, but drive the vehicle off the pavement as far as possible, stop, turn lights off, set the emergency brake, and make sure the brake light is off.
• If dense dust engulfs the roadway, a motorist should not stop on the pavement, but attempt to drive off the roadway as far as possible, following the procedures listed above.

A Dust Storm Bulletin was distributed to motorists decades ago.

The photo at left shows another ADOT outreach effort. In it, you can see an ADOT public information officer displaying copies of a new (well, it was new back then) warning sheet that was being distributed to motorists at ports of entry, MVD offices and other locations.

We can’t quite make out the text, but we see that the “Dust Storm Bulletin” does provide a map showing “dust storm areas in Arizona.”

It’s fun to look back, but if you want to keep up with ADOT’s current safety messaging, you don’t have to go far. You can find a wealth of dust storm safety info on our website, here on the blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter (@ArizonaDOT) and at PullAsideStayAlive.org. As always, drivers planning trips are urged to monitor travel conditions by calling 511 or by visiting az511.gov.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

We’ve told you before that highway construction isn’t just big machinery, heavy-duty vehicles, massive structures and materials by the ton. There’s actually a whole lot of work that happens off project sites and inside a lab.

That was clearly true back in 1974 when this photograph was taken.

Since we weren’t exactly sure of what’s happening in the picture, we reached out to ADOT’s current Asphalt Lab supervisor, who tells us the procedure being performed more than 40 years ago, known as the vacuum recovery of asphalt emulsion residue, is still done today.

He said the method makes it possible to separate the asphalt out of an asphalt emulsion.

Before we get to why that’s valuable, let us first explain that an asphalt emulsion is just a mixture of asphalt, water and a soap solution (water and asphalt don’t mix, so the soap acts as an emulsifier that helps bind everything together).

The emulsion is a sort of liquid asphalt that’s used for many road surface treatments like slurry seal coats, which help fill cracks and minor depressions in older asphalt concrete pavement. Asphalt emulsions can also be used for tack coats, which are what’s sprayed on the road before crews place the asphaltic concrete pavement, and for chip sealing.

Once separated from the water/soap mixture, the asphalt is ready for testing.

Many tests can be conducted on asphalt as a project is being constructed (to ensure it meets specifications) or as a part of research when ADOT is evaluating/designing new projects.

For example, different types of asphalt perform better at certain temperatures, so ADOT’s Asphalt Lab tests asphalt to make sure it will perform at the highest and lowest temperature that it is graded for. Another test measures the asphalt’s elastic properties, while another one “cooks” the asphalt overnight in a pressurized oven to artificially age the asphalt by five years.

“That way, we can predict how the asphalt’s properties will change and how well it will perform in five years,” said Asphalt Lab Supervisor Dan Anderson.

So back to that photograph…

Anderson explains that the lab technician in the picture would have first added isopropyl alcohol to the emulsion. That quickly separates out most of the liquid and what you end up with is a “lump of asphalt that looks like Play-Doh or clay,” Anderson said.

From there, other steps for the procedure include rinsing the asphalt and putting it into a flask that’s attached to a vacuum. A hotplate heats the asphalt in order to slowly boil off the rest of the water, which is then suctioned off by the vacuum.

When it’s all done – in roughly 45 minutes – you’re left with just the asphalt!

While ADOT lab techniques have certainly evolved with the advancement of technology, vacuum recovery remains an effective and widely used procedure, however, it’s not the only way to remove moisture from an asphalt emulsion – ADOT’s Asphalt Lab has a few different options (but we’ll save those for another blog post!).

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”